Kyiv

[Kozerog]

Ukraine locked down:

https://www.kmu.gov.ua/en/news/uryad...-koronavirusom

[YummyPL]

Instead, I'm learning to read it, using the following Anki decks, which are text only, no audio:

Thank you for the links. I took a look. Anki is useful but I prefer memrise.com. I am building my own decks using materials from other decks.

[PhotoSlider]

...This is exactly the right attitude however "compensate" can have broad meanings. I like to experiment. Time will tell what methods work best for me.

Different girls, different meaning indeed. Envelope with cash was seldom rejected, and with certain regulars even requested without any ambiguity. For some girls from remote towns and universities it is the ability to spend the night in the secure location. For some it is entertainment. Most of them genuinely want sex, many refuse to leave unsatisfied. So yes, broad meanings.

As long as statistically you are better than average undertaker, local or visiting, there will be acceptable and even outstanding offering over sufficient period of time. Free market. Supply demand.

I would love to jump forward in time and learn how Kiev will change yet again. Do not want to speculate.

[PhotoSlider]

...Everyone in Ukraine can understand Russian, and most people understand both languages, but many people only speak one language. So understanding Ukrainian is more important than speaking it. Even with conversations between native Ukrainians, often one person will speak Russian, the other will reply in Ukrainian, and they both understand the other perfectly.

The current status is precisely as Kozerog describes it.

Over time there is a slow gradient, changing towards more and more Ukrainian due to it being education language at schools and universities. But there is no rejection of Russian in the daily life. In fact when I did my poor attempts at speaking Ukrainian to Uber drivers, they were tolerant at first, and then seeing how much I suffer, suggested switching to Russian, even though their Ukrainian was impeccable.

Linguistically Russian is certainly closer to Ukrainian than any Germanic (English, etc.) or Latin (Spanish, French, Italian) language.

For any foreigner either Russian or Ukrainian would be tough, but very rewarding. Therefore one of them is enough.

If you are traveling anywhere besides Kiev, for example Minsk or Moscow, then definitely pick up Russian over Ukrainian.

Russian is slowly disappearing throughout the former Soviet Union, for example in Latvia it was forced out, and then due to business need had a substantial comeback in the service industry. Everybody speaks Lithuanian in Lietuva, and young generation doesn't know Russian anymore. Russian is a Lingua Franca to a lesser and lesser extent. In fact English improved significantly everywhere. Not in the remote villages, but educated individuals, especially with a college degree, or well-travelled girls speak or at least follow English quite nicely. Waiters at the good restaurants also speak. Sophisticated dialog is another matter.

And learning new language with a hot girl is so much fun! I do cards, like Kozerog, with specific words and phrases like:

- I want to make love to you!

- You have beautiful nipples.

- Can you move a little closer?

She teaches me Ukrainian, and I teach her English.

[PhotoSlider]

My Russian is quite poor but passable. I am actually working on my Ukrainian. I assume that they always think I am a sex tourist on first meeting, but the Ukrainian speaking should reinforce that I am living and working in Ukraine as I suspect it is significantly less common among casual visitors. PhotoSlider I really think you should try switching.

Russian is my native language.

Agree with your suggestion, and in 2016 already started practicing Ukrainian with a lovely girl from Rio strip club. Extended and diversified further. I understand about 80% now when good rich (not a limited surrogate) Ukrainian is spoken. Which I am certainly proud of, as real Ukrainian is closer to Polish and Czech, and significantly different from Russian. So, yeah, I read a lot now, watch movies, and most importantly, ask the girls I meet to speak to me in Ukrainian. Love the language. I am Ukrainian by heritage BTW, as are a few on this Forum.

[PhotoSlider]

Iceland also has managed to avoid exponential rise, and NB not by closing the country (which would have been easy), but by extensive testing and isolating infected persons ASAP. And everybody who they had contacted earlier.

Close Ukraine and you will only delay the spread for some months or a year. It willhit hard when it hits.

Population of Iceland is under 400 K. Ukraine is 100 times larger, and much less disciplined, or one may say much more free spirited. Simple Graph Theory from Math class in the college.

[Kozerog]

My Russian is quite poor but passable. I am actually working on my Ukrainian.

I find it impossible to learn two similar languages at once. Since I'm still learning Russian, that rules out learning Ukrainian as a spoken language, at least for now. Instead, I'm learning to read it, using the following Anki decks, which are text only, no audio:

https://ankiweb.net/shared/info/812422769
https://ankiweb.net/shared/info/1344132972
https://ankiweb.net/shared/info/113587335

Even though these decks are Ukrainian to English, I actually practice translating Ukrainian to Russian. For difficult sentences, I use Google translate to get the Ukrainian to Russian transaction, or use the Ukrainian-Russian dictionary of ABBYY app for individual words. Translating Ukrainian to Russian is easier than Ukrainian to English, even for me, because Ukrainian and Russian have such similar structure.

If you want to learn Ukrainian pronunciation, use this Anki deck, which has native audio:

https://ankiweb.net/shared/info/1520102967

Anki is an extremely powerful learning system. Windows version and Android app (AnkiDroid) are free, whereas there is a small charge for iPhone app.

Everyone in Ukraine can understand Russian, and most people understand both languages, but many people only speak one language. So understanding Ukrainian is more important than speaking it. Even with conversations between native Ukrainians, often one person will speak Russian, the other will reply in Ukrainian, and they both understand the other perfectly.

[AntonySun1996]

Close Ukraine and you will only delay the spread for some months or a year. It will hit hard when it hits.

Yeah, too late. Closing borders only works at early stage. North Korea suspended its only international airline between Pyongyang and Beijing in January, and they have zero coronavirus case so far.

[YummyPL]

My assumption was that within few months spent with Ukrainian beauties YummyPL will pick up enough of Russian. Perhaps he already speaks well enough.

My Russian is quite poor but passable. I am actually working on my Ukrainian. I assume that they always think I am a sex tourist on first meeting, but the Ukrainian speaking should reinforce that I am living and working in Ukraine as I suspect it is significantly less common among casual visitors. PhotoSlider I really think you should try switching.

Enjoy, compensate, and have no hard feelings.

This is exactly the right attitude however "compensate" can have broad meanings. I like to experiment. Time will tell what methods work best for me.

[Kozerog]

Article and editorial in professional medical journal, versus mass media, which suggests fatality rate under 1%. I previously posted a link to the official UK government agency for public health, which no longer regards covid19 as a serious threat, because fatality rate is low.

https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2001316

https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMe2002387

[Misterxxx]

9529 corona positive is 10% of 90.000 tested.

Current count is 580 dead out of 11,812 infected in UK.

5% of infected end up dead in UK. IMHO that is high. Certainly not as high as Black Death in 1348-1350 that killed 30-45% in England, and up to 60% in Europe.

And the COVID problem is serious permanent damage to lungs of many survivors. Sort of like what smallpox did to faces back in the day, except COVID does it to lungs internally.

South Korea and China are the only 2 countries with high count where second derivative of newly infected cases is not positive anymore. China pretends the growth is almost negligible, and in South Korea it is linear, not exponential anymore. The rest of the world is accelerating.

UK Population is 66 M. Only 0. 014% infected so far. But the curve of total cases is exponential, just like in US or Spain. Waiting to saturate, when it runs out of substrate.

HIV infected make 0. 15% in UK. Give it a week and COVID will catch up.

The death rate in Italy is 10 percent. The media say that this will also happen in the UK. By the way: Even Prime Minister Boris Johnson is infected with Corona.

[Guntherus]

South Korea and China are the only 2 countries with high count where second derivative of newly infected cases is not positive anymore. China pretends the growth is almost negligible, and in South Korea it is linear, not exponential anymore. The rest of the world is accelerating....

Iceland also has managed to avoid exponential rise, and NB not by closing the country (which would have been easy), but by extensive testing and isolating infected persons ASAP. And everybody who they had contacted earlier.

Close Ukraine and you will only delay the spread for some months or a year. It willhit hard when it hits.

[PhotoSlider]

In the UK: 90.000 tests. 9529 people with infection. 463 dead. 10% dead? This is a low rate?

9529 corona positive is 10% of 90.000 tested.

Current count is 580 dead out of 11,812 infected in UK.

5% of infected end up dead in UK. IMHO that is high. Certainly not as high as Black Death in 1348-1350 that killed 30-45% in England, and up to 60% in Europe.

And the COVID problem is serious permanent damage to lungs of many survivors. Sort of like what smallpox did to faces back in the day, except COVID does it to lungs internally.

South Korea and China are the only 2 countries with high count where second derivative of newly infected cases is not positive anymore. China pretends the growth is almost negligible, and in South Korea it is linear, not exponential anymore. The rest of the world is accelerating.

UK Population is 66 M. Only 0. 014% infected so far. But the curve of total cases is exponential, just like in US or Spain. Waiting to saturate, when it runs out of substrate.

HIV infected make 0. 15% in UK. Give it a week and COVID will catch up.

[GDreams]

In the UK: 90.000 tests. 9529 people with infection. 463 dead. 10% dead? This is a low rate?

My daughter is in London. They are only testing people who go to hospital. It is not representative of people with actual infections.

[PhotoSlider]

...single foreign men over age 40 are always assumed to be sex tourists in Kyiv, meaning men who travel for paid sex (PUAs travel for free sex). This assumption is an advantage with semi-pros, because usual awkwardness about money with semi-pros disappears. Any girl in Kyiv who flirts with much older foreign men knows she will probably be offered money at some point in the conversation. If she would be offended by such an offer, she knows to cut the conversation short. If she doesn't cut the conversation short, man knows she is waiting for a money offer and so can make one without offense...

No objections.

My assumption was that within few months spent with Ukrainian beauties YummyPL will pick up enough of Russian. Perhaps he already speaks well enough. Agree, language is a must. However, even I, as a native speaker, would be considered a sex tourist, if I stay for a few days. Language is a necessary but not sufficient condition in that mathematical system of equations.

And likewise, no arguing about the convenience of dealing with Semi-Pro ladies. Easy to arrange a meeting, especially when few solid providers are available& And subsequently easy to politely ask them to leave, when higher priority engagement comes up. None of that relationship BS! As one wise man said: "PhotoSlider, they are not your girlfriends or significant others". Enjoy, compensate, and have no hard feelings.

Perhaps we need to establish a definition of who exactly is considered a sex tourist. And what are the implications.